Marcus The Board Gamer

All about board gaming and board games. Especially medium to heavy euro games.

He/Him. Left leaning (understatement!) and has opinions. Best selling author too. Always forget that.

I also write things: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marcus-Boyce/e/B007JL5VLG%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

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lordsplodge_at_brettspiel.space@momostr.pink

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relay.damus.io

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Last Notes

2026-09-27 17:20:50 UTC

Canal. #SilentSunday
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/117/344/150/278/000/054/original/1855e9aa7cd58401.jpeg

2026-09-27 17:11:19 UTC

Three games of Glass Road this weekend. A 20-minute two-player game. Best part is, it’s not much longer with three or even four (less than an hour for sure)
#BoardGames #BrettSpiele #j2s
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/117/344/113/724/900/272/original/a732cacb5d44f5e3.jpeg

2026-09-25 05:51:01 UTC

RE: https://dice.camp/@geeknative/117326566826293578
Well played UK Games Expo. All conventions should do this. Kick genAI to the curb. #BoardGames #BrettSpiele #j2s
#note1y8w…4twp

2026-07-10 09:56:48 UTC

Here’s my current Top Ten board games.
1. Fields of Arle ( #IfYouAintFarmingYouAintGaming )
2. A Feast for Odin
3. Concordia*
4. Innovation
5. Lords of Waterdeep
6. Anno 1800
7. Memoir ‘44
8. Furnace
9. Arkwright*
10. Lost Ruins of Arnak
Anything above 5th is fluid (* Arkwright was number two but dropped because it no longer gets played) and amusingly aside from FoA, Concordia and AFFO my top played games is very different. #BoardGames #BrettSpiele #j2s /cc @npub1599…cfu6

2026-07-04 07:21:51 UTC

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Go Karting with folks from work. Then family BBQ. No board gaming today though. 😞

2026-06-25 11:57:31 UTC

Traffic jam in Heat at the first corner. #BoardGames #BrettSpiele #j2s
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/116/810/619/482/415/365/original/915828f9186fbd43.jpeg

2026-06-21 14:23:16 UTC

Oh look, a castle. #SilentSunday #Castle
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/116/788/544/054/088/870/original/efcb2c0e87d83be4.jpeg

2026-06-14 16:29:52 UTC

Waterfall. Redux. #SilentSunday
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/116/749/407/301/994/156/original/1ad85c9a15b927f0.jpeg

2026-05-26 11:34:10 UTC

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Ok, now I have PTSD from recalling that scene and the overall film.

2026-04-23 07:07:49 UTC

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As others have said Starmer will not be challenged until after the bloodbath of May’s local elections. Then Labour will have a new leader, who will obviously shift closer to Reform’s right wing views rather than looking at what is likely to be a wide swing to left wing progressive parties (Green and Plaid should both do very well)
So we will get forced more right wing policies. Exactly not what people voted for in the general election.

2026-04-15 06:55:06 UTC

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Politicians in summary…
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/116/407/409/227/469/193/original/2e55e89b8dd89db0.mp4

2026-04-07 07:00:45 UTC

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Getting on a train to go hiking.

2026-04-06 20:03:30 UTC

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Just imagine if it was possible to make a version where the luck was somewhat mitigated. But no, no such design philosophy exists. /s

2026-04-06 10:33:48 UTC

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That wasn’t my problem with the game. I’m fine with cut throat interaction and take that. What I’m not a fan of is spending hours with a hand of crap cards unable to do almost anything. Watching others with good hands of cards romp to victory (and I say this as someone who likes tactical games where your hand of cards can make you zig and zag your way though the game)

2026-04-06 06:43:04 UTC

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I’ve not played that many of Cole’s games. Root is OK(if overrated), but Arcs? Oh boy. My one four player game of THAT left me not wanting to ever touch the game again. It’s a marmite game for sure.

2026-04-03 14:38:11 UTC

You say Marco. I say Polo. You say Marco. I say 3D printed insert. #3DPrinting #BoardGames #BrettSpiele #j2s
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/116/341/279/696/390/479/original/eb4e36f9ffbe10e0.jpeg

2026-03-24 12:25:50 UTC

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One to many no’s. It should say I don’t think €1300 is unreasonable.

2026-03-24 12:20:42 UTC

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As a “Civil Servant” (let’s leave it at that 😉), so someone who deals with the public purse, approving day rates of £1000/day isn’t unreasonable. That’s what nearly €1200. So no I wouldn’t say €1300 is fine for your expertise.

2026-03-20 06:32:09 UTC

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If you want to fly home from Edinburgh, and it’s a much nicer city than London—sorry London fans—and if you can drive. I’d hire a car and take in a tour of the best places between London and Edinburgh. The UKs best parts are the countryside and ancient history. So go visit the South Downs, Bannau Brycheiniog & Eryri national parks (because Cymru is the best part of the UK), the Peak District, and the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales.

2026-03-08 20:52:08 UTC

Time for some pub gaming. #BoardGames #BrettSpiele #j2s
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/116/195/527/528/557/830/original/0165b279eacf45c9.jpeg

2026-03-02 11:13:56 UTC

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It’s because CPU and GPUs have only been getting faster by throwing more and more power at them. That’s why the PS5 is so large. See also; computer GPUs being stupidly massive.

2026-02-17 07:49:24 UTC

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Physical or Cyber?

2026-01-23 12:56:13 UTC

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Yeah. The whole system is skewed. If I was of a younger generation I’d be really quite angry and want change. FPTP needs to go. It’s archaic.
Hopefully we see a shift towards folks like the Green Party now that 16 year olds have the vote (because crappy state pension amount to one side, government policies should favour the younger generation. They sadly do not)

2026-01-23 12:53:03 UTC

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Also; with housing based wealth it’s generally tied up in said asset. How do you fairly tax a pensioner on the value of that house? They probably will have lived in the house for the last 50-60 years, a house purchased for a few thousand £ back then. It’s now worth over a million, but they still only have the state pension as income. Not much headroom for a big tax bill when you’re on £230/week.

2026-01-23 12:16:17 UTC

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I’m not clear on how a system ‘skewed to benefit one generation’ leads to one of the lowest pensions in Europe? We have a lot of pensioners who are choosing between heating and eating. More of those than overly wealthy pensioners.
(Side note. Other non-benefits are also ridiculously low and yes I agree they lack any tripple lock and don’t have political clout like pensions. It’s a wider issue for sure)

2026-01-23 11:54:09 UTC

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If it’s unaffordable, why are better pensions in Europe affordable? Europe has freedom of movement so *easier* migration.

2026-01-21 13:18:54 UTC

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More two than one, yeah. But I don’t disagree with the first point (and I’d advocate for a tax system like the one in Scotland)

2026-01-21 07:33:41 UTC

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If the triple lock is “unaffordable” why do we have one of the worst pensions in Europe? Anyone from government want to explain this? They want to explain how the Netherlands, for example, has a much higher pension?
Or is it as usual we in the UK are being misled and ripped off.

2026-01-13 08:04:11 UTC

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Europes ‘leader’ is sane, right?

2026-01-12 07:30:58 UTC

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Ahh ‘the butt plug’ game. I’ve never played this one. Really should try at games night or a local convention.

2026-01-11 09:09:53 UTC

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Got to wonder about the etymology of the word trousers. Seems suspiciously similar in English, Cymraeg and Swedish.

2026-01-11 08:34:42 UTC

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Yes. The flairs and the glasses were the worst.
Curious side note. Is it only in British English where pants are (correctly imho) called trousers? Well Welsh too I guess with their word trowsus.

2026-01-07 09:45:12 UTC

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Almost all nations. That’s what it means. 😞

2026-01-06 07:58:42 UTC

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I’m old enough to remember when Spitting Image parodied John Major as grey. Well move over. We’ve got the new Beige Prime Minister™️ who won’t do anything or say anything that isn’t the texture of semolina.

2025-12-28 08:16:39 UTC

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Also board games. No cycling of Richmond Park though. Bit of a trek to get there.

2025-12-21 17:56:31 UTC

A Feast for Odin, a game that sits solidly in my top ten of all time. However saying that. It hurts my brain. So many actions spots combined with a spatial puzzle. It’s a challenge. The Norwegians helps… #BoardGames #BrettSpiele #j2s
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/115/758/844/507/248/632/original/e0c8f4e7c374e73c.jpeg

2025-11-30 10:39:10 UTC

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This isn’t a problem of diagnosis <insert the graph charting the rise in left handedness after it was no longer suppressed by forcing kids to use their right hand here> but a problem of how it’s funded. As in money is thrown at private providers who only care about profit. The dismantling of the state that would—and should—support SEND is the problem. Bringing that back is a problem because governments seem to be obsessed with cutting public spending for some reason.

2025-11-23 10:11:25 UTC

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Nuremberg.

2025-11-23 09:17:41 UTC

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Boardgames, cinema, beer. In that order.

2025-11-12 15:50:33 UTC

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The old paracetamol then a few hours later some ibuprofen. A sogn for me I’m normally feeling pretty crook.

2025-11-10 08:42:16 UTC

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I have an expression I like to use for that certain type of people: Business Wankers™️ (both in real life and on LinkedIn. Everyone knows the certain types)

2025-11-03 07:47:09 UTC

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I’m off to Scotland. Sadly work not pleasure. Still I’m off to Scotland and that’s not a bad thing.

2025-10-28 13:15:44 UTC

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Good film. Aside from the ending.

2025-10-22 12:25:29 UTC

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I think my days going ok…
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/115/417/802/590/078/727/original/377debdc2e71ed64.jpeg

2025-10-10 16:15:17 UTC

#FensterFreitag #WindowFriday I don’t trust this pair.
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/115/350/760/116/927/679/original/0ab69300f9c536e8.jpeg

2025-09-30 08:24:38 UTC

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Well put. I was going to post something similar. You attend a rally by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon then you are racist by association.
(I’ll note here the far right lumps the left under a single umbrella)

2025-09-30 06:17:45 UTC

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“Those who marched with Tommy Robinson in London are not all racists”—Em, yes, yes they are.

2025-09-28 06:31:36 UTC

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I should be off cycling to our favourite coffee shop by the disused canal.

2025-09-24 06:09:03 UTC

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I suspect they also asked The Great Hallucination Machine. It’s convinced it’s a BMW. Maybe it’s a Jaaaaag?

2025-09-23 20:03:30 UTC

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BMW 3 Series?

2025-09-10 15:14:16 UTC

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Discovery. Search is absolute hot garbage now. Even search engines without built in “AI” just return page after page of AI generated SEO nonsense.
If you know websites that are AI free and have the content you want all is golden. Discovering new stuff outside of word of mouth feels impossible.

2025-09-02 15:01:37 UTC

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I have a saying at local games night “There’s no bad game that features fish” I’ve yet to be proven wrong. Because I’ve not played a bad game involving fish. I’ve not played Finspan. Probably won’t ever either.

2025-09-02 14:58:48 UTC

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Woah. Bad words about Brass. That’s almost fighting talk. 😂

2025-09-02 14:51:19 UTC

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I don’t like Wingspan either. Probably for different reasons mind you.

2025-09-02 13:54:24 UTC

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Thanks for attending my pointless TED Talk. I can’t change the popular terms used in board gaming.
It’s also perfectly fine not to like certain games. I mean dungeon crawlers leave me cold. I’d rather play D&D and have actual fun. 😂

2025-09-02 13:53:15 UTC

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There’s a list of terms that grinds my gears in board gaming. The main culprit is ‘sandbox game’ because it can’t be a sandbox and still be a game. Now I’m going to stop because talking about that term makes my blood pressure rise. 😅
‘Multiplayer solitaire’ is second on that list. If there’s people and you’re engaging with them you’re not playing solitaire. The flip side of that coin is when ‘player interaction’ is used to mean ‘take that’ or ‘conflict’ in games.

2025-08-13 06:14:44 UTC

Recycle your plastic.
Don’t fly.
Use plastic straws.
Delete emails to save water (sorry can’t type. Too busy laughing at this one)
It’s the biggest con of the 21st century how the blame and responsibility for climate change has been put on the individual. https://social.coop/@MichaelTBacon/115017429481131141

2025-08-01 05:22:47 UTC

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I’m making a note here; huge success.

2025-07-31 18:08:10 UTC

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I’ve only played Kingdom Builder out of that lot. Did like the look of First Rat though…

2025-06-25 13:09:50 UTC

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This is not to the usual Fesshole standards. It didn’t end with weird sex or someone pooing themselves.

2025-06-12 09:57:09 UTC

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Playing right into Reform’s hands. Who will use their popularism approach to say “We will fix your problems immediately”
(Narrator: They won’t but by the time they’re in power it will be too late. See America for an example)

2025-06-08 08:21:41 UTC

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Imagine getting praise from Jeremy Hunt. There’s not enough soap in the world to wash that taint off.

2025-05-26 06:34:56 UTC

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I strongly believe that Reeves is mostly to blame for Labour’s lacklustre performance. That and the fact Starmer is bland and weak (and probably led by Reeves)
I’d put good money on any sensible social policies being blocked by her and her fiscal rules*
* By this she clearly means things that don’t benefit her banking chums.

2025-04-28 06:42:47 UTC

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They want minimum wage workers trapped in the cycle of having to work not trained workers. That’s why.
They’re just too cowardly to say it, so twist their tongues into knots.

2025-04-06 12:50:03 UTC

Railway cottages #SilentSunday
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/114/291/101/061/075/144/original/db6d007d17096ee4.jpeg

2025-03-31 08:12:28 UTC

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Yeah. A career as long as mine means I’ve seen, and outlasted, a lot of shitty bosses. Thankfully the current one is one of those rare examples; a good boss.

2025-03-31 06:56:04 UTC

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One thing about work that isn’t going to help those with mental illness is the sheer amount of shitty bosses out there. Being pile-driven into the ground in the name of ‘productivity’ will do more damage to a persons mental health than working would potentially improve it. Until workers are treated fairly it’s a rigged game.

2025-03-22 08:20:38 UTC

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Resiliency costs money and doesn’t make profit. “Cheaper” to risk taking a hit with a disaster…right up until there is a disaster. Then you’ve got to ride it out, find someone to blame and go back to considering resiliency a cost.
Bean counters and shareholders only think about profit.

2025-03-14 13:57:04 UTC

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One step from Soylent Green.

2025-03-13 08:22:56 UTC

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IBM called this in the seventies.
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/114/154/155/246/397/894/original/d73d1395c5c82cc3.jpeg

2025-02-21 18:20:50 UTC

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There is no middle ground though. There’s either encryption and privacy or there’s no privacy.

2025-02-15 10:00:16 UTC

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Indeed and agreed. Counterpoint (as someone who owns a pretty nice Marantz setup) though is a lot of the ‘audiophile’ stuff is designed to part folks from their money.

2025-01-25 09:30:52 UTC

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I’ve identified a way of funding the NHS fully. No need for health insurance or private health care. It’s called “Tax the super rich until their pips squeak. Make mega corps actually pay tax. Looking at you Amazon, Apple et al…”

2024-12-24 17:45:24 UTC

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Rome demands games. At some point I really must try Trajan.

2024-12-05 16:34:12 UTC

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I needed this one today.

2024-11-11 07:28:24 UTC

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Same retention problem as the rest of the public sector. Pay and conditions. Why work two or more peoples jobs with constant harassment from management to do more (sorry “make efficiencies”) when you can go work in the private sector for more money and less harassment.

2024-10-15 18:09:12 UTC

What did I just punch (and nearly miss a token…)? #BoardGames
https://media.brettspiel.space/brettspielspace-media/media_attachments/files/113/312/776/306/186/200/original/8117f422f745d076.jpeg

2024-09-27 08:25:53 UTC

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How come the poor and working class don’t ever get such special treatment? They get the sharp edge of ‘hard decisions*’ without any chance to wheedle their way into changing government decisions.
* Not hard at all by those making the decisions. Only hard on those who have no choice but to suffer the consequences of them.

2024-09-19 06:29:57 UTC

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To property investors rising prices are good. See also landlords as they can collect more rent. It’s a system that is precarious and very ‘late stage capitalism’
However, you’d think the Financial Times would understand well…finance a bit better and know that rising house prices is, excuse the pun, built on a house of cards.

2024-08-19 07:15:28 UTC

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Threads is doing downhill since the Twitter algorithm exodus. Well more downhill. It had a brief period before the rage and engagement baiters gamed the Meta algorithm.
Never got the argument Mastodon is hard. You sign up on a website. I reckon most of these people’s actual arguments against Mastodon are the fact they can’t farm engagement via manipulation of the algorithm, because there isn’t one!